00:03john always appreciate your time thanks so much how you been doing been great enjoyed watching
00:08the draft thought the uh saints improved themselves and uh i look forward to seeing
00:13what these new prospects offer first off man i want to tell you a big congrats on being named
00:17the new color analyst for the georgia bulldog sports network i know you're following some
00:22legendary footsteps there you got to be excited about this coming season yeah i'm pumped you know
00:26i enjoy doing saints preseason tv and i'm a biased reporter so being able to talk about two teams
00:34that i love uh i'm looking forward to it's great opportunity for me and and i'll be able to follow
00:40the dogs and the saints and what more can you ask for uh we're going to go right into obviously
00:46the
00:47saints drafting two bulldogs on this draft going heavy on the georgia players with kristen miller
00:53oscar delt from your perspective uh what is it about kirby smarts program that makes these guys
00:57such plug and play uh pro athletes first they recruit really well you talk about starting with
01:03a nice piece of clay for the potter i mean you've recruited four and five star guys and you challenge
01:09them in practice on a daily basis and i think that's why the program has found the success that
01:13they have but it's demanding i mean it is a it's notoriously physical in practice and uh
01:21there kirby's going to call you out and make sure that you're given 100 at all times and i think
01:27that's what some players are coming to georgia for that very reason and they want to be pushed they
01:32want to get better they want to be able to maximize their skills and i think the saints picked up
01:37two of
01:37the better players that were available coming out of georgia this year yeah and what what are your
01:42thoughts on on christian christian miller he's kind of an interesting an interesting prospect definitely
01:47got a personality on him but he's a big boy uh you know obviously can stuff the run but what
01:52are
01:52your thoughts on christian well that's the first thing that i'm looking for if i if i want a defensive
01:56tackle he's got to be able to stop the run and the more he can add in the pass rush
02:02game the better
02:03and i think that defined that that's who kristin is kristin's a player that you know he he is physical
02:10and the run game has powerful hands made a lot of tackles for georgia against the run this year and
02:18flashed at times in in the passing game he's not a you know i remember when brzee came out of
02:24clemson
02:25and how he had that explosive first step and it was pass rush first and they're going to improve
02:31uh his run defense i think kristin is kind of set up in in the opposite form of uh i
02:39i expect him
02:40to be very physical and and a factor in the run game early on and be able to develop his
02:45skill set
02:46as a pass rusher i do think he's got the the abilities and some of the traits that you're
02:51looking for to be a better pass rusher but uh i think what defines him at this point and why
02:58you
02:59drafted him is that he's a physical player with a high upside that plays the run really well yeah you
03:04know one thing one thing christian said when we talked to him is you know he's he's excited to team
03:08up
03:08with brian he's been watching brian since since high school or since brian was in high school um
03:13and and it is an interesting pairing and i'm just curious you know as a as a former offensive lineman
03:18right you know when you have these very different skill sets uh on the interior defensive line
03:24across from you how difficult is that as a as an offensive lineman to kind of adjust on the fly
03:29when
03:29one guy might be a little bit more more athletic maybe able to rush the passer versus another guy who
03:34who is kind of just that that bowl inside like what what are those varying skill sets on the
03:38defensive line do for a defense and what are they what are the challenges they present for the
03:43offensive line i think that's the biggest challenge for an offensive lineman is each week and each team
03:48has this variety of players i mean one week you're going up against you know some huge monster and the
03:55next time it's someone smaller and quicker and when a team's able to offer a variety of looks and
04:03has uh players with different skill sets that they can utilize i think it makes them more dangerous
04:08and for a defensive front um you know i would expect kristin to be kind of between the guards and
04:15it would allow brzee to to play more between that guard tackle space and allow him to you know utilize
04:24some
04:24of that quickness and explosiveness he has as a pass rusher so you know if you're looking at nose tackle
04:31and three tech kristin's going to be able to absorb a lot of that you know double team action and
04:37interior play that would demand the strength and power that he offers and hopefully will allow
04:44brian to to free himself and and play with a little more space and you know it's always good when
04:51you
04:51create synergy between the two of them because i think they are different players that uh have high
04:57ceilings john and the other guy from the bulldogs tight end oscar dealt what can you say about him
05:02i know a lot of the knocks at least was uh getting drafted was the fact he didn't have many
05:07receptions
05:07but i feel like he does so much more uh than that and there's been a ton of talk to
05:12post draft of that
05:13there being some untapped potential with him i think that is exactly right it's untapped potential and
05:19i don't think it's his fault you look at how he was used this past year he was one of
05:25the more
05:25effective blockers if if anything george's offensive line went through some growing pains
05:31early in the year and so they relied on a sixth blocker in the lineup and many times that was
05:38oscar delp and because he was so effective as that edge uh edge blocker in in george's system
05:48um i don't think it availed the opportunities um to highlight his skill set because he is an adept
05:55pass catcher and uh really you look back to uh 2024 and some of the plays that he made down
06:04the field
06:05i think that highlights what the saints are hoping they can pull out of him is uh that dual threat
06:12option where you know if he's lined up in line he can be effective and help running backs get to
06:17the
06:18edge but also be a threat down the field which is something that you know you didn't see a lot
06:24of
06:24on film this past year but when given the opportunities i mean he is he's one of those
06:30players having watched him throughout his career that that is capable uh the numbers just didn't
06:37reflect it you know john today's nfl it seems like you know there's more of a push toward heavy
06:42personnel right you're seeing more two tight end packages even three tight end packages and the
06:46interesting thing to me is like in the past you would put all those big bodies out on the field
06:50to run the ball in you know with what sean mcveigh and the rams did and what i think a
06:55lot more teams
06:55are going to start doing now is they're putting those big bodies out there they're putting those
06:58three tight ends out there because they want to throw the ball they want to get the other team in
07:01in base personnel with heavy bodies and then and then send those guys out there um and that requires
07:07guys tight ends who can not only block and sell the run but also go out there and be
07:11be weapons out down the field i'm just curious do you think that's what the saints are planning to do
07:17a little bit with with oscar and with noah fan and with juan johnson and how do you think that
07:22could
07:22affect their offense this year i think it's all about creating mismatches and opportunities and
07:27every coordinator is looking for an advantage and you know as you look at tight ends it's almost
07:34become a misnomer uh you can thank jimmy graham and company for that because how many times do they
07:41really line up as a slot receiver and you're saying all right are you going to play with a
07:46linebacker over him because you you want somebody physical in the run game or are you going to drop
07:52down a safety or is it a nickel corner that you're bringing in because you think it's sub personnel
07:56so when you have tight ends that are able to do both so you have like the slot wide receiver
08:03tight end
08:03and then you have the in line put your hand in the dirt tight end who also plays like that
08:09fullback
08:10motion between the tackles bumper and so you know most teams have a quote-unquote tight end
08:17uh or two that fill those spaces in in different capacities and we've seen that you you look at the
08:25skill sets from like a foster moreau versus a juan johnson and how they're used and and you see that
08:32you know yes they fall under the category of tight end but how they're deployed in the matches and the
08:39ask for that particular player is different so these coordinators are trying to create those
08:45advantages and personnel and spacing and and pre-snap motions and all the various things that
08:53they're throwing at a defense but yes because of their body type i think it challenges a defense to
08:59figure out what kind of personnel you're going to play with when you have two or three of the big
09:03bodies out on the field john you know very well that the saints are really honed in and locked in
09:09on
09:10addressing the offensive line always uh they did this year with jeremiah wright a big guy at auburn
09:176333 331 a big mountain of a man there uh with the current state of the interior line though how
09:22do you
09:23think how quickly can he adjust to the speed of nfl defensive tackles yeah i mean i think you you
09:30draft
09:31him hoping that there's not an immediate need that he's going to be on the field i mean hopefully
09:39he's that number six guy that provides that depth and swing position because we've invested so much
09:46one through the draft but obviously uh pretty substantial free agent add this offseason as well
09:52so looking at it you know when you draft a guy in the third round you obviously like his his
09:58skill set
09:58but uh but you're hoping that it's not a day one starter because really that's more of an indictment
10:04of of the guys that you already have in house and uh having having seen jeremiah play some this
10:11season when we're looking at auburn film uh talented guy big body uh plays with like he plays heavy but
10:20doesn't have heavy feet which for those out there he can anchor well against the the bull rush and some
10:26of
10:26those bigger defensive tackles but he also can get out in space and move and uh that's what you like
10:33about him and and hope that it translates well because you know i i think part of the thing is
10:39you're building an offense now that tyler shuck is the man and you recognize what you're what you have
10:47in hand there trying to build around him and make sure that you keep him safe and give him the
10:51weapons
10:52that he needs to be successful yeah you kind of brought it up there and you know kind of take
10:55a
10:56broader look at this saints team and heading into the 2026 season i'm curious what you think about
11:01this because because to me it's like we look at the last five seasons and and how it's gone and
11:06they're just since drew left there just has not been a ton of a ton of realistic optimism of hey
11:12like
11:12this team should be good this team should be heading in the right direction it always kind of seemed like
11:16hey you're kind of leveling off maybe you get to the middle maybe you fight your way to the playoffs
11:20with
11:2010 wins whatever they won nine games in uh in da second season it just felt like pulling teeth the
11:26whole way it seems to me like that's shifting like it seems like you know there's been a commitment to
11:32rebuilding the roster and and bringing in kind of high floor players um to making a lot of draft picks
11:38they made 17 draft picks over the last two seasons and also it feels like you've hit the quarterback
11:42i'm curious do you think that that's a real thing is that just me imagining it or is there kind
11:49of
11:49a sense of trending in the right direction that just hasn't been there for this team for the last
11:54several years yeah i think this i think before kellen even walked through the door you looked at
12:00it you realize for a couple years i think from from my perspective that new orleans thought they
12:07were closer than they probably were to being at that elite level and injury injuries had a lot to do
12:14with it and you look at the roster and because they were so cash strapped with how they've approached
12:20the the salary cap you could you could field a pretty good pretty solid competitive first string but
12:28as guys got hurt there just wasn't the depth that some of the better teams had out there and
12:33especially during da's tenure uh as we started racking up injuries you didn't have the depth there
12:41was such drop off between uh the starter and the next guy that it it showed how lean the the
12:50cupboards
12:51had become uh for stockpiling talent and now that you're kind of on the other side of that and and
12:59have eaten some of the dead weight dead money loss uh that the saints had faced over these past few
13:06years and invested in draft picks and hit on them so uh i think now you're looking at a roster
13:12that
13:13you're going okay i i see where the growth is i see where opportunity is and there is reason for
13:18optimism
13:19to think that they're pointed in the right direction and are starting to put pieces in place that will
13:25make them competitive john definitely appreciate your insights on the game the players and uh looking
13:31forward to hearing you georgia football now being the color analyst are you still going to get to do
13:34the preseason games for the saints that's my hope uh i usually don't find out till june
13:41my understanding is those two will not conflict so as long as they're willing i would love to
13:47john stinchcomb saints super bowl champ appreciate the time you have a great weekend john thanks john
13:52i appreciate it who dat who dat
13:56you
13:56you
13:56you
13:56you
13:56you
13:57you
14:02you
14:02you
Comments